Formation 1971 Location Taiwan | Type Nonprofit Region served Worldwide | |
Purpose Vegetable research and development Headquarters 60 Yi-Min Liao, Shanhua District, Tainan | ||
The World Vegetable Center, previously known as the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center, is an international, nonprofit institute for vegetable research and development. It was "founded in 1971 in Shanhua, southern Taiwan, by the Asian Development Bank, Taiwan, Republic of Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam."
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These countries wished for the Center to become the "facilitator" for the Collaborative Vegetable Research Network for Southeast Asia, which was to work toward completing various projects that the founding nations put forth. Overall, the main goal of this continues to be to "reduce malnutrition and alleviate poverty in developing nations through improving production and consumption of vegetables."
Research and development
The use of vegetables as crops that are of high worth is important in the "Sustainable Development Goals" of the United Nations Development Program and the World Vegetable Center. The vegetables bred by the Center can be used in poorer areas, where they can serve as "an important source of income" and can help fight micronutrient deficiencies.
The Center’s current crop portfolio focuses on four groups of globally important vegetables, according to the AVRDC:
Indigenous vegetables, particularly those of Asia and Africa are another focus of research at the World Vegetable Center. Indigenous vegetables are domesticated or semi-wild vegetable crops that are grown in particular regions as an integral part of a local food system. Many of them are underutilized crops, particularly in regions where they are not native.
Germplasm collection
A collection of vegetable germplasm is kept at the World Vegetable Center, which is considered to have the "largest and most diverse collection...in the world.". The collection itself contains more than 60,000 accessions of 442 different species collected from 156 countries.
AVGRIS, the AVRDC Vegetable Genetic Resources Information System, provides access to all the Center's data associated with germplasm conservation and management, from registration, characterization, evaluation, and seed inventory to seed distribution.